Kasumi Saotome (Continuum-47512936 (B))
Tendo Kasumi, ex-Captain of the Furinkan Kendo Club, often described as the Goddess of Mercy at Furinkan, so named because of the quick and easy way in which she disposes of her opponents. She never injures them but there’s no mistaking that they’ve been soundly defeated. History Little Kasumi Tendo, age eleven, awoke from a good nap to the sound of something crawling over the rooftop. It was a year since her mother’s death and with her father a virtual ghost as young as she was Kasumi had taken upon the business of being there for her sisters and father in place of their mother. That meant that anything that happened within this house was her business to deal with. Including stray animals and burglars. Tip-toing down the stairs and edged over to the back door of the house, Kasumi found Ranma in the thralls of the Neko-ken rummaging through the garbage. After she calmed him down Kasumi was able to feed and bath and dress him. When she finished Ranma curled up into a ball and fell asleep upon her lap. Kasumi soon realized that Ranma was nothing like her sister Akane. He was bright and cheerful and lively and so energetic that it must have taken real effort for him not to go bouncing off of the walls once he was fully conscious. He thanked Kasumi for her hospitality and accepted a meal when breakfast was offered. Her sister Akane had been aghast at discovering a boy was living under their roof, but when she tried to expel him Ranma cheerfully deflected her efforts, demonstrating an amazing competence at the martial arts that Kasumi found impressive. Akane finally gave up on trying to expel him and just sat glowering at the breakfast table, looking as though she wanted to accuse the boy of all manner of un-nice things. The commotion prompting her father to come out of his cave to see what was happening under the roof of his family household. At first he had been outraged to know that some stranger boy had forced himself upon their hospitality. But once Kasumi explained the circumstance he had calmed down and was prepared to accept the boy as a temporary house guest. This all changed when he learned Ranma’s name, and at that his face went blank with astonishment. Shortly after this a strange man appeared at their doorstep. He had the look of a monk but dressed like a beggar in a soiled Gi, much like the one that Ranma had been wearing. He and her father embraced each other like long-lost kinsmen then began to discuss "old times" while Kasumi and her sisters listened raptly. And little Ranma had scowled a bit as if more annoyed to see his father than overjoyed. The boy left them shortly afterward; Kasumi never entirely forgotten about him and often wondered what became of the wild-maned ragamuffin. Meeting Ranma inspired Kasumi to brush up on her martial arts, to renew the practice that she had allowed to go to waste during the year of grieving over the loss of her mother. Ranma had apparently lost his mother too (the details were vague, and Genma was even more tight-lipped about it than her father). Just seeing how Ranma coped with tragedy inspired Kasumi to want to do better with her life, to not be let down and depressed by the burdens of life and a family that depended upon her. And she had a responsibility to her sisters to set a good example for them by behaving like a proper role model. Kasumi studied Kendo and earned high marks, though her father insisted on keeping up with her non-weapons disciplines as well. She rarely fought outside of matches or the dojo, however, and was appalled by violence when it was not used strictly to defend one’s own life and person. To that end she studied Akaido under the mentor of the kindly Doctor Toju. But Kasumi had no intention of becoming a Martial Artist to the exclusion of all else. She was taking home courses to brush up on Medicine in hopes of one day becoming a doctor. At the present her family needed her to remain in the role of a domestic, and it would be some years before Nabiki could arrange the family finances to afford putting her through college. But she learned enough from the tutoring of others (and borrowing every book that she could pry out of Tofu-Sensei’s drooling grasp) to pass as a decent medic. A role that came in handy. Taking care of Akane’s medical costs alone saved the family a small fortune in doctor’s bills, to say nothing of giving Kasumi plenty of practice for the time when she could be a general practitioner of the medical arts. She knew a lot about pressure points and Shiatsu techniques and had an Acupuncture chart hanging from one wall of her bedroom, in the space normally reserved by other girls for pictures of their favorite pop idols. Then one day Kasumi’s Father gathered them together as a family, and gave the news that utterly stunned the Tendo Sisters. A name from their past, Saotome Ranma. He was coming back to pay them a visit, along with their father. And after sending a post card that came all the way from China. And that one of them was going to be engaged to the young man that they had not seen in eight years. Powers & Abilities Expert Medical Practicioner: Kasumi is a medical practicioner of amazing skill, she is known to be highly proficient in conventional healing techniques, herbal healing, as well as her knowledge of anatomy. She is highly experienced in the art of medication, she learned enough from the tutoring of others (and borrowing every book that she could pry out of Tofu-Sensei’s drooling grasp) to pass even now as a decent medic. A role that came in handy, what with all the scrapes, bumps and bruises that Akane earned on a regular routine basis. Taking care of Akane’s medical costs alone saved the family a small fortune in doctor’s bills, to say nothing of giving her plenty of practice for the time when she could be a general practitioner of the medical arts. She also knows a lot about pressure points and Shiatsu techniques and has an Acupuncture chart hanging from one wall of her bedroom, in the space normally reserved by other girls for pictures of their favorite pop idols. Expert Hand-to-Hand Combatant: As heir to the Tendo School of anything goes Kasumi is a highly accomplished hand-to hand combatant. Kasumi’s specialty is passively reacting to attacks as her body of techniques is largly passive, though she is able to instantly shift her tactics from defensive to a more aggressive posture geared to pressing opponent’s defenses. For Kasumi the Martial Arts are a defensive system meant to protect people, not hurt them, and in nearly all of her matches she won by simply allowing her opponent to wear themselves down with being overly aggressive. Kasumi uses a unique style she created after studying with a number of Masters who have visited the area Immense Spiritual Power: Kasumi has tremendous spiritual power. Master Swordsmanship Specialist: Kasumi’s personal speciality is sword fighting, including her particular mastery in the kendō style of fighting.[1] In battle she encourages her enemies to attack and maintain her defenses while estimating the strength and relative weaknesses of her opponent. Her style depends on only being offensive after the enemy has shown their true strength and then takes advantage of perceived weaknesses in order to end the encounter quickly and with a minimum of effort. A match in Kendo often takes only seconds to determine, and when you committed yourself the battle would be decided almost immediately by the way you commenced your attack. If you struck first and your opponent was strong you would expose yourself to a counter offensive. But if you hesitated and the enemy took advantage of an opening in your own guard then you would be defeated at the onset. Which is why Kasumi’s initial maneuver is to deflect the attack of her enemy until she has time enough to assess the relative strength of her foe, then devise her strategy in accordance to her opponent. Kasumi has also studied the Kamikaze Kashin style of Wind Swordplay under her mother. *'Dance of the Whirlwind': Tendo School Special Attack-This allows Kasumi to win match in a single maneuver. The special attack style taught to her before her mother had passed away and one that Kasumi only uses when all other options were eliminated. The attack not only required full emphasis of her body as the lever for its execution but also the projection of her mind, spirit and emotions. It also required a burst of speed that caused the wind itself to rise up and form a vortex that was fueled by her Ki. *'Wind Slash Defense': Kasumi draws her bokken and meets an attack by drawing it in such a way that it creates a counter-wind that deflects it without touching. *'Wind Scar': kasumi’s mother taught her this technique when she was nine. Keen Intellect: Along with her general skill of healing, she is able to detect the smallest details. This helps her in her mastery of healing. She can detect anomalies and problems lesser healers would not. She is also a powerful analyst with great attention to detail, able to quickly determine how to counteract any ailments a person may have.[31] Category:Continuum-47512936 (B)